Thursday, April 28, 2011

TRIVIA NIGHT - Saturday May 28, 7:30pm, make a table of eight for $180, details to come...

Question of the Week:

What's done is done. I had an abortion years ago. I did it to avoid shame, but instead I am riddled with guilt. Even though I can't reverse what I have done, is there some way to alleviate the burden I am carrying? Can I somehow make amends? Am I condemned to a life of guilty feelings?

Answer:

Guilt is to the soul what pain is to the body. Pain itself is not a good thing, but it does serve a positive purpose. Pain alerts you to a problem that requires action, it calls you to seek its source and alleviate it.

Guilt serves a positive purpose too. Guilt that eats away at us is pointless. But guilt can be used as a catalyst for becoming a better person, when it alerts us to acknowledge mistakes we have made, take responsibility for them and not blame others - even if others were partially to blame - and then resolve to be better for the experience. We must turn around the negative feelings, so they can propel us to do more good.

In the case of someone who wrongly had an abortion, perhaps one way to channel the guilt into positivity would be to take on a project that will specifically benefit unwanted or abandoned children. The ultimate would be to actually adopt such a child, but that is not always possible. Here are some other suggestions: volunteer time and donate money to an orphanage; become a "big sister" to a child that needs extra support; or help out a friend or family member who is bringing up their children in difficult circumstances, such as a single mother or someone battling serious illness.

Guilt creates a void in our soul. Fill that void with something meaningful. Redirect your energy towards a new venture that will benefit someone in need. That way you don't just alleviate the guilt, you actually transform it into a force for good.

You can't bring back the potential that was lost. But you can reclaim your own potential. Don't let guilt paralyse you any longer. Ask G-d to forgive you. Then turn your guilt around, and use it as a springboard for positive action. Make what was a negative chapter in your life into the introduction to the next chapter, a chapter focused on love and life.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

What is the connection between eating matzah and escaping from Egypt? I know that the Jews left Egypt in such a rush, the dough didn't have time enough to rise. The men would have been saying to their wives, "Honey we gotta go in 10 minutes, just grab some food and let's go!!"

So they happened to eat matzah - who cares? It doesn't seem at all significant. Why is matzah elevated to be main focus of the whole Pesach experience? I think Pesach is about freedom, not food!

Answer:

Think about it. The Israelites had to rush out of Egypt so fast, they didn't have time for their bread to rise. Why? Does that make sense? What was the rush exactly? The Egyptians had just been blasted with ten plagues as divine punishment for holding the Israelites captive, they were more than ready to let them go. So why rush things? Couldn't they have spent the few extra minutes it takes to let the bread rise and make proper sandwiches for the trip?

The answer is: they weren't running from the Egyptians, they were running from themselves. The two centuries of slavery had taken their toll on the Jewish people's spirit. They had forgotten their illustrious past as children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, pioneers of a path of ethics and higher morals. The corruption and depravity of the Egyptian society had slowly crept into the Israelite mentality, and they assimilated many of its paganistic ideals into their own. They were slaves to Egypt, not just in body, but in mind as well.

It came to a point where their unique identity was all but lost. Suddenly they realised that the legacy of Abraham could be lost forever, and the message of hope that the Israelites were to bring the world would not be delivered, all because of them. Only then did they cry out for help. On the brink of point of no return, they called out to G-d.

Think of an alcoholic. For a while, the alcoholic fools himself into thinking that things are in control, he is just drinking socially, it relaxes him, there's nothing wrong. Gradually, the habit overtakes him, and one-by-one he loses everything he has: his family, his job, his money, his dignity. But it's only when he hits rock bottom, when he has been stripped of everything, that it suddenly dawns on him that he has a real problem.

Now he has to act fast. Once he has recognised the problem, he has to deal with it immediately, before that moment of clarity passes by and he slips back into self-justification. He can't do it alone. He's too drunk to help himself. He has to call for help. Someone from the outside, someone sober, will have to reach out to drag him out of his addiction. But they can only help him if he is willing to go cold-turkey, not to touch alcohol until he is cured. He has to run away from the addict that he has been until now. Otherwise he cannot begin to heal.

That's why Matzah is the crux of what the exodus is all about. The children of Israel had to make a hasty retreat from Egypt. Egypt and its lowliness had a hold on them, as powerful as an addiction. They had to first get out of Egypt in order to get Egypt out of themselves. To delay would be deadly. Once they had realised the problem, if they would then have hesitated, it could have spelt the end for them - they may have sunk to the point of no return.

We all have our addictions, whether to harmful substances, poisonous relationships, toxic habits or negative ideologies. Pesach is a de-tox retreat, where the spirit of liberty calls upon us to free ourselves from our personal Egypt. The Matzah reminds us that the first step towards freedom is to go cold-turkey. No hesitations; make a sudden and complete exodus from the you that was, and march through the desert towards the you that you can be.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

We always get stuck on the part of the Haggadah where the rabbis argue about how many plagues the Egyptians suffered. First it says there were Ten Plagues. Then Rabbi Yehuda makes them into three groups: Dtzach Adash Beachav. Then we hear there were ten plagues in Egypt and fifty additional plagues at the Red Sea. Rabbi Eliezer then says that each plague was really four plagues, so there were 40 in Egypt and 200 at the Red Sea. Finally Rabbi Akiva says each plague was actually five plagues, so there were 50 in Egypt and 250 at the Red Sea!!! Can you shed any light on what in the world is going on here?

Answer:

The Exodus from Egyptian slavery represents the soul's liberation from evil forces. In every generation we have to see ourselves as if we are leaving Egypt, leaving behind our own inner resistance to goodness, our evil inclination, so we can march to Mount Sinai and receive the Torah.

But to truly be free from slavery, your Egypt has to be afflicted with plagues. Before you can express your inner goodness, you have to clear away layers of resistance that get in the way. For every positive impulse there is a negative counterforce that attempts to quash it. Every time I want to do a good deed, my inner Pharaoh, my evil inclination, has an excuse why I shouldn't do it. I have to break through these blockages in my heart to open myself up to goodness.

This is the deeper meaning of the plagues. Before the Jewish people could receive the Ten Commandments, there were ten layers of evil that had to be vanquished, each layer being the blockage to fulfilling one of the Ten Commandments. After the ten powers of evil were subdued through the ten plagues, the Ten Commandments could be received and observed, and the powers of goodness could reign free.

But the Torah has more than ten commandments. There are in fact six hundred and thirteen commandments. The Ten Commandments are ten general categories, under which all the other commandments fall. "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy" includes all the festivals. "Do not steal" includes all business ethics and laws of commerce. "Do not murder" includes all moral obligations to our fellow human beings, and so on. They are parent categories, under which lie hundreds of offshoots.

So the ten really includes six hundred and thirteen. Therefore the ten plagues must also include six hundred and thirteen plagues, because for each and every commandment there is a negative counterforce that needs to be nullified for us to be able to perform that commandment. Now we understand why the Haggadah lists various ways our sages extrapolated more plagues than the original ten.

Let's look at the numbers in the order mentioned in the Haggadah:

There were 10 plagues

Rabbi Yehuda groups them into 3 -Dtzach Adash Beachav

Rabbi Yose lists 10 plagues in Egypt and 50 at the sea

Rabbi Eliezer multiplies it into 40 in Egypt and 200 at the sea

Rabbi Akiva finds 50 plagues in Egypt and 250 at the sea

Now add up the sum total of all these numbers of plagues mentioned in the Haggadah:

10+3+10+50+40+200+50+250 = 613

The Haggadah is teaching an amazing lesson. The Ten Plagues came to clear the way for the Ten Commandments. But being that the Ten Commandments include within them 613 commandments, so too the ten plagues actually add up to 613. When the Jews left Egypt, every single layer of resistance was obliterated, and the Jewish soul was left open to accepting all of the commandments.

On Seder night, as we read through these plagues, we can each think of a mitzvah we have been resisting to do, and allow the power of telling the story of the plagues to rid us of any resistance to goodness, and free us to do what's right.

Mincha 4:45pm followed by Seudas Moshiach for men in shul to end the Yomtov

Seudas Moshiach for women 4:45pm at 128 Wellington St Bondi

Yomtov ends 5:59pm

Please allow half an hour before eating chometz that was sold

SELL YOUR CHOMETZ

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In order to avoid owning any products that aren't Kosher for Pesach, we sell our non-Pesach food for the duration of the festival. To arrange this, please fill in your name (signature not required) and all addresses (work/holiday home included) on the form below and email to rabbimoss@nefesh.com.auby Sunday April 17.

I, the undersigned, fully empower and permit Rabbi Moss to act in my place and stead, and on my behalf to sell all Chometz possessed by me, knowingly or unknowingly as defined by the Torah and Rabbinic Law (e.g. Chometz, possible Chometz, and all kinds of Chometz mixtures). Also Chometz that tends to harden and adhere to the inside surfaces of pans, pots, or cooking utensils, the utensils themselves, and all kinds of live animals and pets that have been eating Chometz and mixtures thereof. This includes all above mentioned Chometz that will come into my possession from now until Erev Pesach. He is also empowered to lease all places wherein Chometz owned by me may be found, particularly at the address/es listed below and elsewhere.

Rabbi Moss has full right to appoint any agent or substitute in his stead and said substitute shall have full right to sell and lease as provided herein. He also has the full power and right to act as he deems fit and proper in accordance with all the details of the Bill of Sale used in the transaction to sell all my Chometz, Chometz mixtures, etc., as provided herein. This power is in conformity with all Torah, Rabbinic and Civil laws.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

One thing I never understood in the Haggadah of Pesach. What's so wise about the Wise Son? He asks his parents, "What are all the laws that our G-d has commanded you?" He seems no better than the Wicked Son, who is criticized for excluding himself and asking "What is this Pesach service to you?" - to you and not to him. Does the Wise Son not also say "commanded you" and not him, thus excluding himself?

Answer:

The Wise Son and the Wicked Son are not similar at all. They are opposites. The Wise Son asks a question. The Wicked Son isn't asking, he is mocking. He doesn't ask questions of his parents. He belittles them.

It isn't his fault. He is a child of post-modern parents. Such parents don't ever tell their children what to do. Instead of giving thier kids direction, they ask them questions.

"Do you want to go to bed now gorgeous?"

"What would you like for lunch tomorrow princess?"

"Are you ready to stop poking your sister's eye out cutey-pie?"

Parents who constantly ask their children questions and give them choices are putting their children into a position of authority that they are not ready for, while undermining their own authority. More than anything else, children need boundaries. They need to be lovingly told what is right and what is wrong, what is allowed and what is forbidden. These ethical lines have to be clear and unequivocal, set down with sensitivity but without room for debate.

But to give clear boundaries you have to be an authority figure, you have to carry moral weight in the eyes of your children. A parent who caves in to their kids' desires and cowers to their demands, who consults their children's opinion on everything and always gives them options, will never command the respect needed to lay down the law for their children. Kids of such parents see themselves as the know-it-alls, and their parents as silly old people who haven't got a clue.

This is the wisdom of the Wise Child. He recognises that his parents are the source of wisdom, not he, and so he needs to ask them questions, not the other way around. He looks to his parents for guidance, he seeks their input and their point of view, knowing that when it comes to life skills, his youthful energy and idealism are no match for the experience and mature insight of the older generation.

A wise child doesn't come from nowhere. He comes from wise parents. Ask your children too many questions and they will stop asking you any. Give your children clear direction, and they will become wise too.

In order to avoid owning any products that aren't Kosher for Pesach, we sell our non-Pesach food for the duration of the festival. To arrange this, please fill in your name (signature not required) and all addresses (work/holiday home included) on the form below and email to rabbimoss@nefesh.com.auby Sunday April 17.

I, the undersigned, fully empower and permit Rabbi Moss to act in my place and stead, and on my behalf to sell all Chometz possessed by me, knowingly or unknowingly as defined by the Torah and Rabbinic Law (e.g. Chometz, possible Chometz, and all kinds of Chometz mixtures). Also Chometz that tends to harden and adhere to the inside surfaces of pans, pots, or cooking utensils, the utensils themselves, and all kinds of live animals and pets that have been eating Chometz and mixtures thereof. This includes all above mentioned Chometz that will come into my possession from now until Erev Pesach. He is also empowered to lease all places wherein Chometz owned by me may be found, particularly at the address/es listed below and elsewhere.

Rabbi Moss has full right to appoint any agent or substitute in his stead and said substitute shall have full right to sell and lease as provided herein. He also has the full power and right to act as he deems fit and proper in accordance with all the details of the Bill of Sale used in the transaction to sell all my Chometz, Chometz mixtures, etc., as provided herein. This power is in conformity with all Torah, Rabbinic and Civil laws.

Name:Address(es):

NEFESH SERVICES - 54 Roscoe St Bondi Beach

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Friday

Candlelighting 5:25pm

5:30pm Mincha followed by Chassidus Shiur

6:30pm - 7:15pm Shabbos Service followed by Kiddush sponsored by Libby and Ron Moss in honour of their wedding anniversary, and to welcome Mrs Esther Sosover to town

Shabbos day

9am Class on Weekly Parsha 10am -12:15pm Morning Service with kids program followed by Kiddush sponsored by Rebecca and Earl Abraham in honour of the naming of their baby girl - Mazel tov!